Marco Polo Wuhan

Marco Polo Wuhan, is a new hotel fully developed by Han Long Development, a subsidiary of The Wharf of Hong Kong.

The hotel opened it door on September 15, 2008, the occasion of the 755th birthday of famous Italian traveler — Marco Polo (arguably September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324).

This is Marco Polo Hotels’ 4th hotel in China and the latest addition to the Group’s portfolio in the country.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is the largest city in Central China.

The Yangtze River divides Wuhan into three towns, namely Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang. Thus the city has been called ‘the city on rivers’.

Marco Polo Wuhan is at the edge of an urban riverfront park with panoramic views of the Yangtze River. It is located close to the Wuhan business district area and only 30 minutes to the Wuhan International Airport, Wuhan’s main ports of entry.

The hotel is part of the Times Square residential and commercial complex. Each room has an iPod surround sound system and Internet Access. There is also as a fully-equipped fitness centre with an indoor pool, sauna and Jacuzzi. This is also equipped as a MICE hotel.
Source: Focus on Travel News

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.

A popular tourist attraction in the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu province is fueling controversy for its entrance fees.

The management of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, which contains the tomb of the father of the Republic of China revered by many Chinese at home and abroad, has reportedly been facing criticism for not opening its site for free to the public.

The scenic spot has an admission fee of RMB80 ($11.60 U.S. dollars), which is higher than the entrance fee for the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper quoted an official as saying the authorities will open the spot to the public for free next year.

In line with a regulation released earlier this year, museums, memorial halls and spots used for patriotic education began to open free of charge and received national allowances for rising operational costs.

Negotiations with the mausoleum’s management on the issue reportedly fell apart because the site required an allowance of RMB300 million every year, 10 times that proposed by the government.

Responding to the ongoing criticism, a publicity official of the mausoleum said yesterday that it is ‘impossible’ for the attraction to be free.
Source: Jongo News

Jinmao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center.

The Shanghai World Financial Center, standing 492 meters tall and also nicknamed the ‘Wall Street of China,’ the biggest skyscraper in Chinese mainland and the third-tallest in the world has been officially inaugurated.

The 492-meter-high building is in the Lujiazui area of Pudong District overlooking the Huangpu River.

It covers an area of 381,600 square meters. It has 101 floors above ground and three floors underground.

The third to fifth floors are conference centers.

This fits in neatly with the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel which takes up the 79th to 93rd floors. Hotel rooms with amazing views. On a clear day you can see forever.
Source: China View

Garden Hotel Suzhou

The historic Garden Hotel Suzhou, a former state guest house and private residence of Kuomingtang leader Chiang Kai-shek, has earned 5-star status.

This award comes from China’s National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and makes one wonder how other hotels can claim seven star status when CNTA does not issue them.

Garden Hotel Suzhou last year has a RMB260 million makeover. The former manor, which hosted visits by over a hundred Chinese and international political leaders as a state guest house, was approved in its  5-star rating after a series of unannounced checks of both service and facilities.

It features 238-rooms with comprehensive conference facilities. A modern business center, luxurious spa, gym and a boutique were also incorporated in the renovation so that it becomes a MICE hotel but still very much in a garden setting.
Source: Asia Travel Tips

Futian Shangri La

Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen, a new five-star, US$200 million, flagship Shangri-La hotel, has opened in the heart of Futian, the business district of Shenzhen.

The hotel is a few minutes’ walk from Shenzhen’s mass transit railway system, which links directly to Hong Kong via the Huanggang border crossing and Futian port. It also offers easy access to Shenzhen International Bao’an Airport and the Shekou ferry terminal.

The new hotel is in a a 40-storey building with 498 guestrooms, 50 suites and 53 serviced apartments.

Among the facilities available in the rooms are an iPod dock, a 37-inch LCD television in the room with a 15-inch version in the bathroom, wired and wireless Internet connectivity, and DVD and CD players.

As a MICE hotel, Futian Shangri-La has a 1,800-square-metre grand ballroom with a high ceiling of 9.5 metres and a hydraulic built-in stage. Also available is an auditorium, a junior ballroom, a boardroom and a range of 10 function rooms.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently owns and/or manages 55 hotels under the Shangri-La and Traders brands.
Source: China NewsWire

Four Points by Sheraton has announced the launch of its first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in North China.

Technically it is the Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments. Following the successes of other Four Points hotels which opened in Greater China including in cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changshu, Lhasa and Taipei.

Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments will be in the same style.

The Four Points in Beijing is located in the heart of Beijing’s technology district — Haidian District —  a 5-10 minutes drive away from major government and business organizations, research centers, Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, and major universities.

The Asia Pacific’s largest Shopping Mall — Golden Resources — is within walking distance with more than 1,000 shops, restaurants and movie theater.

Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments has 355 guestrooms and 177 serviced apartments.

The hotel is equipped with 1,054 square meters of meeting and banquet space for groups up to 850 people, including a 720-seat pillar-less natural light Grand Ballroom and 7 other function rooms all equipped with state-of-the-art technology making it very much a MICE hotel.

The hotel also has an indoor heated swimming pool, fitness center and a full-service spa.
Source: eTravel Blackboard

The Ritz-Carlton plans to open a 24 storey, 273-room luxury hotel in the southern China city of Shenzhen in the Futian Central Business District. This should be in early autumn and this will be The Ritz-Carlton’s sixth hotel in China.

Confession of interest. The writer has stayed at many hotels and thinks the Ritz-Carlton chain is consistently the best or one of the best in any city. The difference lies in the staff who are empowered to do almost anything to make sure the guest feels as if they were staying with well-heeled friends.

This new hotel will be in a mixed-use complex which will include the hotel, office space, and high-end retail space and will be within walking distance of the metro. The majority of the guest rooms will include a free-standing bathtub offering a view of the city.

All guest rooms have wireless internet access and, a new twist, alarm clocks with iPod docking stations.

The usual restaurants and lounges plus a fifth floor of the hotel with a landscaped roof garden including an outdoor swimming pool with sun deck, a terrace, and a roof top bar and grill.

Meeting space will range from a 700 square meters’ (7,535 square feet) Grand Ballroom, which will be divisible by three and nine smaller meeting rooms and an Executive Boardroom. So this is definitely a MICE hotel.

The latest foreign firm to expand in China amid the country’s economic boom is luxury hotel group, Marriott International. It hopes to open 24 more hotels in China over the next three years.

Marriott Hotels which launched its first hotel in China in 1989, says with the pending Olympic Games, it will add over 1,000 rooms in Beijing. The U.S hotel group also has its eye on the MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition) market, which is rapidly growing across China.

Three new hotels trading under the names of Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard by Marriott will be opened in the capital this year.

The big plans for the 24 new hotels will, of course, depend totally on what happens to the price of oil. If it goes up to $200 a barrel — which is possible but perhaps not totally likely — there will be a very quick revision of plans. If it were to stabilize at, say, $120 a barrel — again possible but not likely — then the hotels will boom. Our illustration is the impressive Marriott Guangzhou.
Source: BizChina

Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts has opened Swissôtel Foshan, its fourth hotel in China.

The hotel is the first international hotel in the city. It is both a business and a tourist hotel.

The Zumiao Commercial District and the Fenjiang Financial District are in the immediate vicinity of the hotel, and the cities of Guangzhou and Shunde are only a short drive away.

The hotel is 208 metres tall, which makes it the highest building in Foshan and the 234 hotel rooms and suites are located on the top 15 floors. Each room has high-speed internet, and a spacious work area.

The Swissôtel Foshan provides six meeting, conference and function rooms and the grand ballroom can accommodate up to 800 people which qualifies it as a MICE hotel. There is a sauna, steam bath and swimming pool in the hotel’s spa and fitness centre.

Torsten Pinter, Swissôtel Foshan’s General Manager said, ‘Foshan and the surrounding area have a number of historical sights to offer. For example, the Zumiao Ancestral Temple built in 1078, and the Nan Feng ceramic workshops in Chancheng, which have a tradition dating back to the time of the Ming dynasty Emperor Zhengde, are well worth a visit.’

‘Furthermore, in 2006 a new museum was built dedicated to Bruce Lee, who was born in Foshan.’

All hotel staff are trained in Bruce Lee martial arts and customers are warned to behave.

No. Sorry. That came out wrong.

All hotel staff are trained in the concepts of Swiss hospitality but guests can ALSO visit the Bruce Lee museum. That sounds better.
Source: Easier Travel

Kempinski has opened the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou. Is set in a large estate which has the 27-hole Jinji Lake International Golf Course and a state guesthouse of five villas.

The hotel is surrounded by the scenery of Dushu and Jinji Lake. It is located 150 km from Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and 90 km from Hongqiao Airport.

Hirsch Bedner Associates was commissioned for the interior design of the hotel.

The hotel has 381 rooms and 77 suites on 21 storeys, most of them overlooking either the lakes or the golf course. Wireless LAN is available everywhere.

This is a MICE hotel in that the meetings and banqueting facilities include one of the largest grand ballrooms in Suzhou covering 1,850 m2 and catering for up to 1,600 guests.

There are also eight meeting rooms starting from 100 m2 in size, and a state-of-the-art business centre.

There is, of course, a health center and an indoor swimming pool. Unusually — perhaps uniquely — it has indoor tennis and squash courts. The extensive spa facilities set to open towards the end of 2008 will include jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms.
Source: Asia Travel Tips